Psychosocial Symptom Management Intervention for the Improvement in Quality of Life During Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• Greater than 18 years of age
• Spanish or English speaker with ability to read one of these languages
• Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
• Patients diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET)
• Willingness to be assessed at diagnosis, during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (if applicable), preoperatively (if applicable – unless time of diagnosis is preoperative visit), and postoperatively
• In Aim 1 of the study, English and Spanish speaking pancreatic cancer patients (n=18) who have already completed treatment will be included in the study. Additionally, up to 10 medical care providers will be included who are (a) are oncologic care physicians (e.g., surgical, medical, radiation oncologists) and advanced practice providers (e.g., physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, social workers, dietitians); (b) have substantial experience (>= 5 years) working with our target population (including post-graduate training). Dietitians or social workers with at least one year of experience working with pancreatic cancer patients will be eligible for interview
• In Aim 2 of the study, only pancreatic cancer patients will be included and involved in the pilot randomized control trial (RCT) (30 patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 30 patients with post-treatment completion of surgery with or without chemotherapy)

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients unable to read Spanish or English, as they will be unable to complete surveys
• Prior inpatient psychiatric treatment for severe mental illness or overt signs of severe psychopathology (e.g., psychosis) within the past six months as these conditions can interfere with adequate participation in assessments, per principal investigator (P.I.) discretion, based on a case-by-case review
• Have any condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would compromise the well-being of the patient or the study or prevent the patient from meeting or performing study requirements